How Does It Feel to Be a Father?
"How does it feel to be a father?"
"Here's the consecrated needle you requested."
Evan took the needle Alphonse offered. It's warm. Having felt divinity with his own body once before, he could sense it far more acutely now than ever.
"I left it with the Archbishop. Has your time of silence and punishment for overstepping already ended?"
"...That's none of your concern."
The reply was sharp, yet Evan could tell it carried far more caution than before. He deliberately prodded at the man's nerves. "I don't trust anything you've blessed."
Alphonse's face twisted. Yet even as he ground his teeth, he answered. "Do you truly think I would dare tamper with an object meant to pierce the Saintess's body?"
"If that's not the case, then I fail to see why it wasn't left to the Archbishop and was instead entrusted to you—a mere priest."
"In this cursed land, divine power recovers slowly to begin with! You dragged a hero here on the brink of death and left his treatment to me! The Archbishop is currently resting!"
"For someone supposedly exhausted, you look remarkably fine."
"Hmph. In terms of total divine power, mine is nearly on par with the Archbishop's. Consecration prayers consume far less divinity than healing ones."
"Oh?"
This fanatic claims that much? It was hard to believe, but he didn't seem to be lying. Being the zealot he was, Alphonse would never bluff or belittle an opponent on this particular subject. Still, one question remained.
"If your reserves are so similar, why are you still just a priest while Rowena is an Archbishop? Does the Holy Kingdom hand out ranks by age?"
"It is proof of asceticism and faith!"
"Asceticism and faith... To me, that just sounds like those who know how to flatter their superiors get promoted fastest."
Alphonse huffed in rage, then glared at Evan and clamped his mouth shut, clearly unwilling to waste any more patience on conversation. Evan had no interest in digging into how rotten the Holy Kingdom's hierarchy truly was, so he returned to the point.
"How long will the divinity on this needle last?"
"A full day should pose no problem."
The thought that he could finally begin his research brought a faint smile to Evan's lips. Alphonse stared at him with open suspicion.
"...Abaddon's Devil. What exactly are you plotting?"
"Where did that come from?"
"Don't play innocent! First the Saintess, now the Hero—you're keeping both of them trapped in this cursed land. Are you colluding with the demons to ensure humanity's defeat in the war?!"
Evan looked at him with pure pity, as if listening to utter nonsense. "Anyone overhearing you would think I'm keeping the Hero and Saintess here with collars around their necks. The Saintess stays because she chooses to. As for the Hero, I'd rather receive a word of thanks."
When Evan had brought Locke to the mansion, the man's condition had been dire—skull caved in, internal organs ruptured. No matter how powerful the Holy Spear was, if Evan had simply left him, Locke would have died. Yet Alphonse's logic refused to bend.
"You deliberately created a situation where you had no choice but to bring him in that state!"
Even if I told him it was the Saintess who did it, he wouldn't believe me. This fanatic's mind could never grasp that Evan had been the one to stop Iris from delivering the finishing blow.
"Abaddon's Devil, even if you scheme with your blasphemous tricks to seize a holy relic, you will never be able to touch one! Do you honestly believe a holy relic would ever acknowledge the likes of you?"
"Well, if I killed every witness here—including the Hero—and took the Holy Spear for myself, wouldn't it already be mine?"
Alphonse flinched at the threatening tone, but quickly recovered with a scornful laugh. "If holy relics could be claimed that way, the Empire would not have settled for merely two of them."
"You speak as if mere tools have their own special rules of ownership."
When Evan deliberately disparaged the relics as "mere tools" to test him, Alphonse snorted.
"You know nothing. A holy relic can only be wielded by the chosen."
"You mean with the Holy Kingdom's permission?"
"No. Even that cannot override the relic's own choice. The Holy Kingdom is obligated to surrender the relic to whoever receives a legitimate selection."
"...I see."
"So do not even dream of it, Abaddon's Devil. Do you truly believe someone like you could ever be chosen by a holy relic?"
Evan had realized two things from the conversation. First, Alphonse knew nothing about the Saintess's true abilities. Second, if those abilities were exactly what Evan suspected, the information was far more tightly guarded than he had imagined.
They merely manage the holy relics according to the will of the gods, and will hand them over to those who receive a legitimate selection.
If that was the propaganda the Holy Kingdom pushed, it was perfectly crafted to manufacture false heroes.
The part about the relics choosing their owners directly must be true. But the odds of it happening to a relic locked deep inside the Holy Kingdom's vault were practically zero. No matter how freely it could choose, a relic had no legs to walk out and find its master. Such a thing could only occur through an extreme coincidence and miracle, as it had with Locke.
In other words, if they simply kept the Saintess's ability to transfer ownership a secret, the Holy Kingdom could hand-pick candidates, stage it as a "legitimate selection," and maintain control.
"That's... rather unfortunate, isn't it?"
So what the Holy Kingdom had truly lost was not merely the right to use the relics. They stood to lose the very justification for wielding power in the relics' name—and, beyond that, their monopoly over them.
"Thanks to you, I've learned some very useful information. I appreciate it."
Alphonse frowned, clearly confused by the remark. At that exact moment—
Bang!
The reception room door flew open. The moment he saw who entered, Alphonse's expression turned triumphant. He bowed respectfully to the newcomer.
"Hero of the Holy Spear, have you fully recovered?"
"...A priest of the Holy Kingdom?"
"Indeed. I never imagined I would meet you here of all places."
"Nor I. Who would have thought I'd find the Saintess here—the one reportedly transported with fatal wounds a year ago?"
The pointed remark made Alphonse falter. He spoke defensively. "The Saintess's condition was classified..."
"I'm not blaming you. The Empire is keeping my own condition secret as well. Even allies have matters they must conceal according to their own circumstances."
"I'm relieved you understand. Then, may I ask what brings you here...?"
"It has nothing to do with the Holy Kingdom."
Alphonse smiled with satisfaction. He believed the Hero had come as the Empire's representative to join him in pressuring Evan.
"Then let us speak together."
"...Very well."
Locke hesitated briefly before nodding. Evan waited, tension tightening his shoulders. I gave him time because it seemed possible, but... The fact that he had returned so quickly suggested the outcome wasn't favorable. A person's worldview did not change overnight.
In the worst case, he might have to kill the Hero right here.
"King of Abaddon, you once told me to establish a standard that the world cannot shake."
"I did."
"I had a clear standard. It was the Holy Spear."
Evan's brows drew together. A failure?
"A spear that always, without fail, points toward my goal. Because I had it, I never wavered."
"Exactly. That is the proper—"
"Which is why, the moment that standard wavered, I could no longer remain a hero."
"...What?"
Alphonse, who had been interjecting, froze solid. Evan's own eyes widened.
"When the Holy Spear that had guided me like a compass no longer pointed to any goal, I had already ceased to be a hero."
"H-Hero of the Holy Spear! What are you saying—!"
Be quiet.
Evan silenced Alphonse with a light curse, then nodded. "So you wanted to confirm it again with the Holy Spear?"
"No. Now I intend to create my own standard."
Locke met Evan's gaze with a bitter smile.
"During our fight, you said I relied too heavily on the spear's power. You were right. I was dependent on it—not only in terms of physical strength, but mentally as well."
He let out a long, weary sigh and continued.
"You said you wanted the holy relic."
"You were listening?"
"It just happened. ...I will lend you the Holy Spear."
At Locke's bombshell, Alphonse shot to his feet, ready to lunge. One word from Evan stopped him cold.
Sleep.
The fanatic priest collapsed in a heap. Ignoring him, Evan asked Locke, "You must want something in return."
Locke nodded. "I want you to fill the void I leave behind. Even now, countless people are dying on the battlefields against the monsters."
Evan read the intent in his eyes. If you possess the power to wipe out ten thousand soldiers—including a hero—in a single stroke, couldn't you do it?
"Do you really believe the Empire would accept undead troops?"
"They will have no choice. A year has passed since the Saintess vanished, and the Empire has been crippled by a lack of forces ever since."
Satisfied with the answer, Evan smiled, the corners of his mouth lifting. "Until when, and to what extent?"
"Until the next Hero of the Spear appears. And for as long as the power is not used to torment or kill others—any extent necessary."
"Good. The contract is made, Hero of the Spear."
It was the best possible outcome—perhaps even better. As long as you remain alive, the next Hero of the Spear will never appear.
The hero chosen directly by the spear stood before him, and the one who could grant its ownership was currently tending crops in the mansion garden. This was practically a semi-permanent loan.
"You asked me to fill the empty space you leave behind. I'll throw in a bonus."
"A bonus...?"
"Think of it as change."
I suppose it's fine to tell him now. Since their relationship would clearly continue for a long time, this was something that had to be addressed. He had kept it hidden to avoid ruining Natalia's closure, but that concern no longer applied.
"Natalia has a living daughter."
"...What?"
"Whose daughter do you think she is?"
Locke's eyes trembled violently. Evan gave a light, congratulatory clap.
".........Ah?"